The present invention relates generally to displaying periodic data. More particularly, the present invention relates to displaying physiological patient data in such a manner as to facilitate identification of patterns and/or diagnosis of abnormalities.
Medical patient monitors are typically employed to provide a variety of physiological patient data to physicians or other health care providers. Such physiological patient data facilitates diagnosis of abnormalities (such as in emergency rooms), the patient""s current condition (such as in operating rooms or in intensive care units), or permit long-term trend monitoring (such as Holter monitoring or stress testing as part of an annual physical examination).
Presently, one or more sensors (also referred to as transducers) are connected to the patient to acquire various physiological information associated with that patient (e.g., electrical impulses, resistance measurements, etc.). Such physiological information is then processed by the medical patient monitors into physiological data suitable for outputting to the physician or other health care provider. The physiological data can be displayed on a screen or provided on paper in either graphical and/or numerical format. Analog or digital strip chart recorders, spreadsheets and plotting programs are examples of output devices of physiological data. Additionally, the physiological data may be stored in a memory device or transmitted over a network for remote access and/or further processing.
In order to present a periodic data parameter over a long interval of time in a diagnostically meaningful manner, such data is preferably presented in graphical format and takes advantage of the periodicity of such data to facilitate the identification of abnormalities or deviations therein. For example, physiological data relating to cardiac cycles are typically shown in graphical format (e.g., as waveforms). Each cardiac cycle, or a portion thereof, may be displayed in a separate two-dimensional plot or graph such that after an interval of time, the display screen may be filed with a plurality of two-dimensional plots. Alternatively, successive waveforms may be presented proximate to each other in one plot or graph. In either case, the graphical display aids in identification of gradual or subtle changes in the data (e.g., waveform morphology) by the physician or health care provider.
Unfortunately, in order to present a large quantity of physiological data in a single screen in a meaningful manner, data presentation may be presented in less than intuitive fashion (e.g., replacing amplitude geometry with color indexing) and for some aspect of the data deemed to be xe2x80x9cunimportantxe2x80x9d, such data may be omitted or otherwise modified. Some users of the equipment find such display representation to be visually unappealing and may result in slowing down or degrading the clinical usefulness of the acquired data. Moreover, once display of the data has been initiated, users usually have limited ability to interface or manipulate the displayed data to further facilitate the clinical usefulness of the data for that particular user.
Thus, there is a need for an apparatus and method for displaying a large amount of periodic data over successive intervals in a compact form without sacrificing data fidelity. There is a further need for an apparatus and method for presenting periodic data over successive intervals in a clinically useful format. There is still a further need for an apparatus and method for interfacing with presented periodic data to facilitate a user""s utility of same.
One exemplary embodiment relates to a method of graphically presenting periodic data including a plurality of data points in each time period. Each data point represents an amplitude as a function of time. The method includes generating a surface based on the periodic data. The surface corresponds to the amplitudes of the data points. The method further includes optionally assigning a visually differentiating rendering to at least one area of the surface with respect to an another area of the surface. The method still further includes presenting the surface with the optionally assigned visually differentiating rendering to an output device.
Another exemplary embodiment relates to an apparatus for graphically presenting periodic data including a plurality of data points in each time period. Each data point representing an amplitude as a function of time. The apparatus includes a processor configured to generate a surface based on the periodic data and optionally assign a visually differentiating rendering to at least one area of the surface with respect to an another area of the surface. The apparatus further includes an output device coupled to the processor and configured to present the surface with the optionally assigned visually differentiating rendering. The contour of the surface corresponds to the amplitudes of the data points.
Still another exemplary embodiment relates to an apparatus for graphically presenting periodic data including a plurality of data points in each time period. Each data point representing an amplitude as a function of time. The apparatus includes means for generating a surface based on the periodic data. The surface is representative of the amplitudes of the plurality of data points. The apparatus further includes means for optionally differentiating at least one area of the surface with respect to an another area of the surface. The apparatus still further includes means for presenting the surface for visualization.